The 93-unit mixed-income project planned for downtown Millburn's Rimback site faces its next required step Wednesday, Aug. 19, when the Planning Board conducts a Master Plan Consistency Review of the Spring Street and Essex Street Redevelopment Plan.
The review, mandated under New Jersey's Local Redevelopment and Housing Law Section 7(e), is the formal land-use determination that must occur before the Township Committee can adopt the redevelopment plan created by Ordinance 2763-26. It is the first time the Planning Board will formally weigh in on the project since the Township Committee voted 5-0 on July 29 to approve a global settlement agreement relocating the affordable housing development from 9 Main St. to the Essex-Spring intersection.
The meeting begins at 7:30 p.m. at the Millburn Board of Education's Education Center Building, 434 Millburn Ave., according to the posted agenda. The Master Plan Consistency Review is the sole business item.
What the board will consider
The redevelopment plan covers Block 1212 (Lots 4, 22, 24, 25, 26 and 27) and Block 1207, Lot 7, at the intersection of Essex Street, Spring Street and Millburn Avenue. The site sits adjacent to the Harth, an existing inclusionary development.
Under the settlement the township announced July 27, the project calls for 75 deed-restricted affordable rental units (including units reserved for veterans and individuals with special needs), 18 market-rate units, ground-floor commercial and retail space, and on-site parking. The township's announcement said the deal eliminates an $11 million taxpayer cost that would have been required to relocate the Department of Public Works facility under the previous 2021 plan at 9 Main St. The project will also generate new PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) revenue from property that is currently tax-exempt.
"This settlement achieves what a lot of people said couldn't be done," Mayor Frank Saccomandi said in the township's July 27 press release. "It ends costly litigation. It protects taxpayers. It fulfills our affordable housing obligations."
The settlement is with RPM Development Group and the Fair Share Housing Center.
Timeline pressure
The Planning Board review comes on a compressed timeline. A final bond ordinance reading was scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 11, followed by a court compliance hearing on Wednesday, Aug. 12. At the July 29 meeting, Saccomandi explained the governing body needed to act before that court date to avoid putting the township's fourth-round affordable housing compliance at risk.
Resident concerns remain
At the July 29 Township Committee meeting, a majority of residents who spoke voiced support for the deal, though several objected that the new plan adds 18 market-rate units beyond the original 75 affordable units and raised questions about the project's ultimate cost. Township officials responded that the 75-unit affordable requirement was fixed by the binding 2021 agreement and could not be renegotiated, and that the municipal share draws primarily from the Affordable Housing Trust Fund, funded by development fees rather than the property tax levy.
Chai Center lawsuit in closed session
The Planning Board will also enter executive session to discuss pending federal litigation: Chai Center for Living Judaism, Inc. v. Township of Millburn (Case No. 2:25-CV-17318-SDW-AME). The lawsuit names both the township and the Planning Board as defendants. No details about the nature of the claims have been publicly released.
What's next
Planning Board Chair Gaston Haupert will preside over the Aug. 19 meeting. If the board finds the redevelopment plan consistent with the Master Plan, the Township Committee can move toward formal adoption. The next scheduled Planning Board meeting is Wednesday, Sept. 2, at 6:30 p.m. at the same location.
The agenda notes that "formal action may be taken." Residents can attend the open session and offer public comment.
